Steve Pikiell made something abundantly clear Saturday: Coaching for the big picture is more important than winning any individual game.

The Rutgers basketball coach benched Corey Sanders for nine straight minutes as Penn State pulled away for a 60-43 victory at the Bryce Jordan Center. The benching came after the junior guard had the ball stolen and didn’t run back to defend.

"I just went with that (second) group that came out and gave us great energy," Pikiell told reporters afterward. "We got a lift out of that. I coach by that."

It’s the third time this season Pikiell has sat Sanders, the team’s leading scorer, for a significant portion of a game. He finished scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting.

Rutgers (12-11 overall, 2-8 Big Ten) shot 31 percent from the field in dropping its third-straight contest. The Scarlet Knights are now 1-31 on the road since joining the Big Ten, with the lone win coming at Penn State last February. They visit last-place Illinois on Tuesday.

Three takeaways

1. Much hinges on Pikiell getting more out of Sanders. It’s the program’s most pressing matter right now. Sanders has been brilliant in Rutgers’ biggest wins, but the consistency is not there yet. It's not his fault that the other guys can't shoot, but they have no chance when he's not going full throttle. Pikiell is trying to send a message, and this is the core of building a culture. It has to get through, because unless Montez Mathis is Steph Curry, they’re going to need Sanders next season, too.

2. Mike Williams’ absence is glaring. After playing strong defense for most of the game, Rutgers got overrun in the final eight minutes. The Scarlet Knights finished with just two offensive rebounds. There is no one to fill that glue-guy, toughness void.

3. This might be the worst-shooting team in modern Rutgers history. The Scarlet Knights’ three best players shot 3 of 23 from the field. They’re down to 40.3 percent on the season, which ranks 337th of 351 teams in Division I. No amount of defense, rebounding, ball-sharing and good coaching can compensate for that.

Three quotes

From Pikiell's postgame radio interview with Jerry Recco and Joe Boylan:

1. On the offensive woes: “We were grinding this game, but we couldn’t score. We were hanging around, then we had some bad, bad turnovers . . . Guys were getting a little frustrated when you can’t score.”

2. On Mike Williams: “We miss Mike dearly. As you know he’s a little bit of a heart-and-soul type of guy. But he’s also a guy capable of getting 10 points, another offensive options for teams loading up on Geo Baker (1-for-9 shooting, 3 points).”

3. On freshman center Mamadou Doucoure (6 points, 4 rebounds): “He got 21 minutes tonight. I’d like to get him in that 24, 25 range, but fouls have been a problem for him. Tonight they let him play around the basket, which I think helped him. He shows signs that he can shoot the ball. I’d like to get him more involved, but he’s got to be on the floor to do that.”